Ask A NurseCategory: BreastfeedingIs it OK to have a daily glass of wine while breastfeeding?
Anonymous asked 5 years ago

Is it OK to have a daily glass of wine while breastfeeding?

1 Answers
Elika Roohi Staff answered 5 years ago

In short, no. After you drink, alcohol flows quickly into your breast milk. Alcohol is water soluble, and because of the increased water content in breast milk, alcohol becomes more concentrated in your breast milk than in your body. If you’re the average 5’4” woman, it takes 2-3 hours to clear even 1 ounce of alcohol from your system—imagine how much longer alcohol remains in your baby’s body affecting him or her! So it’s better to skip alcohol in the short time period you’ll be breastfeeding. In the early months of life, your exclusively breastfeeding baby may want to nurse as often as every hour or two. This makes drinking even small amounts of alcohol dicey if you want to avoid passing it on to your baby.